Page 62 of When The Rain Falls

"Who's Maggie?" I ask quickly. Probably too quickly.

"No one," says Finn. "Absolutely no one."

"My coach. She has a major crush on Dad." Vivian wrinkles her nose in disgust.

"Maggie doesn't count. She likes anyone with a wallet and a dick," Ruby blurts out.

"Ruby Marie Hudson!" Finn scolds. "Goddammit. Watch your mouth."

"Well, it's true," she exclaims. I cover my mouth to hide a snicker. Finn runs a hand down his face in frustration.

“Finnnnnny!” I hear a muffled voice call out over the crowds.What the hell is that?

“Hey look, a corn maze.” Finn puts a hand on my back and begins to aggressively walk me towards a wall of long corn stalks. I’ve never seen him move so quickly. This is suspicious. Just a second ago, he was complaining about there being too many scarecrows and now he’s allballs to the wallover a corn maze? Ooh, maybe he plans to kiss me again. Within the privacy of giant stalks of corn.Romantic.

“Finnnnnny!” I hear the voice again.

“I think someone’s calling you,” I say, digging my heels into the dirt and turning around. The girls found friends from school and dispersed quickly, leaving me to entertain the Halloween Scrooge. Which, up until now, has proven to be more difficult than I expected, since he apparently doesn’t like anything that has the potential to elicit joy. And he especially does not like scarecrows.

“Nope. Don’t think so,” he says quickly, just as a woman parts a crowd of people and comes barreling at us. “Goddammit,” Finn mutters, dropping his arms and slumping his shoulders in obvious frustration.

The woman, who is growing larger by the minute as she marches towards us, is wearing a tight, low-cut v-neck with lettering across it that saysfundraiserwith the wordfunin bold text and underlined. Tight black leggings are plastered to her skin, with ruching on the side and along the seam, specifically designed to accentuate the curves of her ass. Everything about her, from her thick layer of makeup to what is clearly a pushup bra under her large-bosomed t-shirt, screams aggressive.

Who. Is. This. And why do I want to punch her in the tits?

"Hey, there,” she says sweetly, taking a moment to catch her breath. She tosses her hair over her shoulder and bats her eyelashes.Hey, that’s my move.Then she pushes her arms against her breasts to mash them together. I look down at my own much smaller chest and frown. That’snotmy move. Life is so unfair.

As she breathes, the fleshy cleavage spilling over the top of her neckline moves distractingly up and down. I have the strong urge to cover Finn’s eyes. It’s so…indecent.

“Oh, Maggie,” Finn says, pretending to act surprised. Wait.Maggie?Did he sayMaggie?TheMaggie? The Maggie who likes any man with a dick and a wallet? “You just missed Vivian,” Finn adds.

Maggie laughs. And her laugh is like nails across a chalkboard. God. Do I sound like that?

“I was looking foryou,silly man.” She flicks a wrist at him and then casually slides her hand up his bicep. Rude.

She’s touching my things.

Finn grimaces slightly. Ok, that’s a good sign. That means he has good taste.

“Did you get my emails about the soccer tournament?” she asks. “I was hoping someone would step up as snack mom. You know, organize the snacks for the mid-week tournament. I didn’tget any volunteers. But I was thinking, if you’re free, that you and I could?—"

“I’ll do it.” I don’t even remember forming the words. They just come out. The thought of her with him makes me want to puke up all of last week’s dinners.

Maggie blinks a couple times, like she’s only noticing me for the first time and wondering where I’ve come from. She leans forward and studies me, her boobs threatening to fall out of her shirt. God. You have boobs. We get it.

“And who, exactly, are you?” she asks, like she’s asking about a spot on the carpet. As she points a finger at me, her chest ripples like a plate of Jell-O being set down firmly on the counter.

“This is—” Finn starts, but she cuts him off.

“The nanny?” she asks. She scans me from head to toe like she's assessing my threat level. I stand as tall as possible and jut out my chin. I'm ready for her. I’m fully prepared to take her down if I have to.

"This is Aimee," Finn says.

"Oh?" she asks, a hint of condescension in her voice. She’s waiting for more. An explanation. More information about how I’m associated with him. I take a step closer to him, wedging myself under his arm as I sling a hand into his back pocket of his jeans. Finn’s head instantly swivels down in my direction. And, yes. I’m petty. But shit. He has a nice ass. I smile at him as I caress the curve of his glute. God, why is his ass so firm. Is that what happens when you pucker your asshole closed all the time? Finn clears his throat awkwardly. Maggie gives me a look as dirty as a movie theater floor.

Fuck you, too, Maggie.

“I said, I’ll do it,” I repeat. I have no freaking clue what I’m agreeing to. But I’ll do it.

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